About the Book

Book: The Blue Cloak

Author: Shannon McNear

Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense

Release Date: March, 2020

Evil Incarnate Leaves a Trail of Destruction across the Frontier

Book 5 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History

Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence in 1797 at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend Sally Rice’s wedding only to watch the marriage dissolve into horror has the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin Micajah become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims.

How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?

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"The Blue Cloak" by Shannon McNear is a book based on real history and through the topic is not a fun subject, I did enjoy reading the book! I am really surprised because the book is about murders and wife swapping! But the book is written in such a way that the details aren't really graphic.

This book is listed as Christian Historic, and yes the characters do have little conversations with God and one of the characters is a preacher's daughter but I wouldn't called this a christian novel.

After reading this book, I really want to read more about the Harpe family crimes! I appreciate the author's notes in the back of the book.

I really though the blue cloak would play a bigger part in the story than it did, but it is mentioned a few times.

I recommend this series because I think we all need to be aware that things like that did and does happen and yes, when I read stories like these, I am reminded that God does keep us in His hands and there are others who goes through much more sorrows than I do.

I don't recommend this book or some of the others in the series if you are dealing with issues as these books might cause you some flashbacks, but otherwise, I recommend all of them. I have liked the last two the best as they aren't written as they are just history but more as a story to be enjoyed, if as anyone can really enjoy reading about gruesome crimes.

I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinions are my own.

About the Author

Transplanted to North Dakota after more than two decades in Charleston, South Carolina, Shannon McNear loves losing herself in local history. She’s a military wife, mom of eight, mother-in-law of three, grammie of two, and a member of ACFW and RWA. Her first novella, Defending Truth in A Pioneer Christmas Collection,was a 2014 RITA® finalist. When she’s not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the northern prairies. Connect with her at www.shannonmcnear.com, or on Facebook and Goodreads.

More from Shannon

How dark is too dark for a Christian to write?

That was the question I wrestled with when deciding whether or not to take on the story of the Harpes. The histories in Scripture itself aren’t rated G, but writing fiction requires a level of detail and depth of emotion I wasn’t sure would be wise, or helpful, to explore in this case. But as I prayed and sought the counsel of those whose discernment I trust, the answer came back, overwhelmingly …

Is God stronger than the darkness, or not?

Well, of course He is. And nothing in human history has ever escaped His notice, or taken Him by surprise.

So, was there something redeeming to be found in the tale of the Harpes?

For the first few weeks of research, I walked around in a state of shock at the horror of the historical accounts, but details surfaced that helped me shape my fictional characters Rachel and Ben. With Rachel working in her family’s trading post near the wild frontier town of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Ben a lawyer who recently passed the bar, the real-life Hugh Lawson White provided a handy connection point between them. Many other details fell together in ways I had not foreseen when I began developing the story. Sally Rice Harpe, however, rose to the forefront. This was more her story than anyone’s, but realizing I couldn’t properly write the book without using her point of view? That was scary. I knew the moments I’d have to visit, some of them in real-time.

Despite the tragedy, however, I could see an overarching story of spiritual warfare. Felt a growing conviction that prayer must have played a vital role in bringing the Harpes’ reign of terror to an end. So it is my hope that against the backdrop of one of the most chilling episodes of our country’s early history, the hand of God shows clearly, and that yes, the reader finds it redemptive.